Lilies
On Mars - ∆GO (Lady Sometimes Records via Cargo
Records UK)
LP
/ CD / DL
25
September 2015
8.5
/ 10
Sardinian
electronica duo release their new album.
Originally
from the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, the duo of Lisa Masia and Marina
Cristofalo moved to London some thirteen years ago. Their passion for long nights of music
resulted in improvisations which were recorded post haste whilst ideas were
fresh. The subsequent nine tracks have given
Lilies On Mars a quite stunning, and often beautiful album.
Sounding
almost like an early 80s alternative synth album, the girls have given the
songs a truly modern twist. Opener,
Stealing has incisive and hard percussion which pounds out every beat with clinical
precision, indeed the latter is the often singular item that raises the tracks
above any other synth pop attempts.
Recent
single the infuriatingly addictive Dancing Star has vocal hooks which will
embed themselves in your head and space-age trippy sounds that shimmer and
shine into a quite remarkable track.
Indeed, the theme of sugar-sweet vocals and near trippy sounds are the
common theme throughout and knit together perfectly.
There
would always have been the danger of ∆GO sounding slightly dated had Lilies On Mars been
content with the analogue equipment that they use, but their insistence on moving
this forward has paid huge dividends.
The often dreamlike, sometimes indecipherable lyrics twist and swirl
around ethereal instrumentation and catchy hooks which not only provide a
reminder of the synth classics of the early 80s, but also look forward to a new
sound which is full of promise.
It Was Only Smoke slows the pace somewhat, but
with a semi-dubbed backing it falls naturally into place. Vocals provide fantasy moments and the
leisurely feel is nothing short of sumptuous.
From The Earth To Above begins like an OMD standard and that’s no bad
thing, in fact given the impact and influence they had on pop music, it’s a
huge compliment.
Rachel Walks By The Sea oozes a breathless
sexuality before breaking into a speedy instrumental with a strong Kraut-rock
feel and album closer I’ve Got You is so incredibly beautiful that it’s hard to
comprehend. With comparisons to Princess
Chelsea’s Great Cybernetic Depression, soft, gentle voices over the most
minimal backing disappear into a black hole of near nothingness before fading
out of view via random blips and beeps.
Exquisite stuff.
Links
Lady Sometimes Records
Cargo Records
Lilies on Mars website
Lilies On Mars on Twitter
Lilies On Mars on Facebook
OMD on hiapop Blog
Princess Chelsea on hiapop Blog
Great Cybernetic Depression album review
Published on Louder Than War 13/09/15 - here
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